BP BHEAD INT S [atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to port district management of state-owned aquatic lands; and amending RCW 79.90.465, 79.90.475, and 79.90.500.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. RCW 79.90.465 and 1984 c 221 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:

The definitions in this section apply throughout chapters 79.90 through 79.96 RCW.

(1) "Water-dependent use" means a use which cannot logically exist in any location but on the water. Examples include, but are not limited to, water-borne commerce; terminal and transfer facilities; ferry terminals; watercraft sales in conjunction with other water-dependent uses; watercraft construction, repair, and maintenance; moorage and launching facilities; aquaculture; log booming; and public fishing piers and parks. Facilities and uses that exist in order to support a water-dependent use, such as parking areas for marinas and boat launches, and support services for marine terminals and ferry terminals, are considered water-dependent uses for the purposes of rent calculation under RCW 79.90.480.

(2) "Water-oriented use" means a use which historically has been dependent on a waterfront location, but with existing technology could be located away from the waterfront. Examples include, but are not limited to, wood products manufacturing, watercraft sales, fish processing, petroleum refining, sand and gravel processing, log storage, port district offices, and house boats. For the purposes of determining rent under this chapter, water-oriented uses shall be classified as water-dependent uses if the activity either is conducted on state-owned aquatic lands leased on October 1, 1984, or was actually conducted on the state-owned aquatic lands for at least three years before October 1, 1984. If, after October 1, 1984, the activity is changed to a use other than a water-dependent use, the activity shall be classified as a nonwater-dependent use. If continuation of the existing use requires leasing additional state-owned aquatic lands and is permitted under the shoreline management act of 1971, chapter 90.58 RCW, the department may allow reasonable expansion of the water-oriented use.

(3) "Nonwater-dependent use" means a use which can operate in a location other than on the waterfront. Examples include, but are not limited to, hotels, condominiums, apartments, restaurants, retail stores, and warehouses not part of a marine terminal or transfer facility.

(4) "Log storage" means the water storage of logs in rafts or otherwise prepared for shipment in water-borne commerce, but does not include the temporary holding of logs to be taken directly into a vessel or processing facility.

(5) "Log booming" means placing logs into and taking them out of the water, assembling and disassembling log rafts before or after their movement in water-borne commerce, related handling and sorting activities taking place in the water, and the temporary holding of logs to be taken directly into a processing facility. "Log booming" does not include the temporary holding of logs to be taken directly into a vessel.

(6) "Department" means the department of natural resources.

(7) "Port district" means a port district created under Title 53 RCW.

(8) The "real rate of return" means the average for the most recent ten calendar years of the average rate of return on conventional real property mortgages as reported by the federal home loan bank board or any successor agency, minus the average inflation rate for the most recent ten calendar years.

(9) The "inflation rate" for a given year is the percentage rate of change in the previous calendar year's all commodity producer price index of the bureau of labor statistics of the United States department of commerce. If the index ceases to be published, the department shall designate by rule a comparable substitute index.

(10) "Public utility lines" means pipes, conduits, and similar facilities for distribution of water, electricity, natural gas, telephone, other electronic communication, and sewers, including sewer outfall lines.

(11) "Terminal" means a point of interchange between land and water carriers, such as a pier, wharf, or group of such, equipped with facilities for care and handling of either cargo ((~~and/or~~)), or passengers, or both.

(12) "State-owned aquatic lands" means those aquatic lands and waterways administered by the department of natural resources or managed under RCW 79.90.475 by a port district. "State-owned aquatic lands" does not include aquatic lands owned in fee by, or withdrawn for the use of, state agencies other than the department of natural resources.

Sec. 2. RCW 79.90.475 and 1984 c 221 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Upon request of a port district, the department and port district ((~~may~~)) shall enter into an agreement authorizing the port district to manage state-owned aquatic lands that are: (a) Abutting or used in conjunction with and contiguous to uplands owned, leased, or otherwise managed by a port district, for port purposes as provided in Title 53 RCW; or (b) beneath public marina facilities developed or maintained by a port district. Such agreement shall include, but not be limited to, provisions defining the specific area to be managed, the term, conditions of occupancy, reservations, periodic review, and other conditions to ensure consistency with the state Constitution and the policies of this chapter.

(2) If a port district acquires operating management, lease, or ownership of real property which abuts state-owned aquatic lands currently under lease from the state to a person other than the port district, the port district shall manage such aquatic lands if: ((~~(1)~~)) (a) The port district acquires the leasehold interest in accordance with state law((,)); or ((~~(2)~~)) (b) the current lessee and the department agree to termination of the current lease to accommodate management by the port. The administration of aquatic lands covered by a management agreement shall be consistent with the aquatic land policies of chapters 79.90 through 79.96 RCW and the implementing regulations adopted by the department. The administrative procedures for management of the lands shall be those of Title 53 RCW.

(3) No rent shall be due the state for the use of state-owned aquatic lands managed under this section for water-dependent or water-oriented uses. If a port district manages state-owned aquatic lands under this section and either leases or otherwise permits any person to use such lands, the rental fee attributable to such aquatic land only shall be comparable to the rent charged lessees for the same or similar uses by the department((~~: PROVIDED, That~~)). However, a port district need not itemize for the lessee any charges for state-owned aquatic lands improved by the port district for use by carriers by water. If a port leases state-owned aquatic lands to any person for nonwater-dependent use, eighty-five percent of the revenue attributable to the rent of the state-owned aquatic land only shall be paid to the state.

(4) Upon application for a management agreement, and so long as the application is pending and being diligently pursued, no rent shall be due the department for the lease by the port district of state-owned aquatic lands included within the application for water-dependent or water-oriented uses.

(5) If a port district acquires property subsequent to entering into a management agreement with the department, then the state-owned aquatic land abutting or used in conjunction with and contiguous to the acquired property shall, at the request of the port, be included in the management agreement.

(6) The department and representatives of the port industry shall develop a proposed model management agreement which shall be used as the basis for negotiating the management agreements required by this section. The model management agreement shall be reviewed and approved by the board of natural resources.

Sec. 3. RCW 79.90.500 and 1984 c 221 s 11 are each amended to read as follows:

Leases for nonwater-dependent uses of state-owned aquatic lands shall be charged the fair market rental value of the leased lands, determined in accordance with appraisal techniques specified by rule. In no case shall the fair market rental value include the value of any improvements or fill to the state-owned aquatic land, unless the state owns the improvements or fill, and has a right to charge for the improvements or fill. However, rents for nonwater-dependent uses shall always be more than the amount that would be charged as rent for a water-dependent use of the same parcel. Rents and fees for the mining or other recovery of mineral or geothermal resources shall be established through competitive bidding, negotiations, or as otherwise provided by statute.